This is the transcript of Nandini Krishnan’s conversation with bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi, at the launch of the former’s first book, Hitched: The Modern Woman and Arranged Marriage, published by Random House India. Ashwin Sanghi (AS): Nandini, honestly speaking, this is one of the most enlightening books that I…

(Published in the July 2014 issue of Shubh Yatra magazine, retrieved from http://www.shubh-yatra.in/emag/july14/#/ShubhYatra/52​) It’s rather awkward when one is deemed an expert on a subject one has no practical experience of. Since Hitched was released, I’ve been accosted by journalists, young men…

(Published in Bharat Matrimony's blog, on February 21, 2014, retrieved from http://blog.bharatmatrimony.com/celebrity-interviews/717-arranged-marriages-are-here-to-stay.html) Are arranged marriages still relevant? I’m assuming we are talking about their relevance in urban, westernised India. That is the milieu that was my concern for the book,…

(A shorter version of this appeared here.) There is, as far as I know, no book of the kind written on the topic. With no precedent, what was it like approaching the subject? Well, it was lovely, because I didn’t…

(A shorter version of this interview was published here.) What were some of the big surprises for you from your research and interviews? The biggest surprise for me was how willing people were to share their personal stories. I felt…

(Reproduced from the original.) There's a bit in Nandini Krishnan's book Hitched, a series of tell-all essays on the arranged marriage circuit that sums up India's attitude to marriage perfectly. In a chapter where brides reveal what to expect at…

(Originally published in The Hindu Business Line, reproduced from http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/on-campus/womens-literature-through-many-lenses-at-stella-maris-seminar/article5422034.ece) As public discourse and media debate continue to engender discussions on the skewed gender dynamic in India, the Department of English at Stella Maris College organised a national seminar…

Novelist Amandeep Sandhu’s, whose latest book Roll of Honour has been short listed for The Hindu Prize 2013, reviews Hitched in The New Indian Express. With her interviews-based non-fiction Hitched, Nandini Krishnan steps into what is perhaps India’s foremost sunshine industry: the arranged marriages.…